In the News
March 25, 2014
When we set out to reform health care, one of our major priorities was ending the practice of charging women more than men for the same insurance. The Affordable Care Act addresses this in a number of ways, including a ban on gender discrimination in health programs and requiring health insurance plans to cover critical women's health services including mammograms, maternity care, and oral contraception at no extra cost.
March 8, 2014
Federal safety regulators received more than 260 complaints over the last 11 years about General Motors vehicles that suddenly turned off while being driven, but they declined to investigate the problem, which G.M. now says is linked to 13 deaths and requires the recall of more than 1.6 million cars worldwide.
February 19, 2014
Japan is back in the spotlight in Washington — and that's both strengthening, and testing, bilateral ties.
Among the signs of growing interest: a sharp increase in visits from members of Congress.
February 18, 2014
Visiting U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday called on Japan and South Korea to mend ties, saying the trilateral alliance involving the United States will become all the more important to deal with various challenges in Asia.
"As members of Congress, we are very concerned about strengthening the trilateral relationship," Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat from Colorado, told a press conference in Tokyo, adding it is one of the "difficult issues that Japan will need to work through."
DeGette, who co-chairs the U.S.
February 10, 2014
DENVER — Members of Colorado's congressional delegation are asking the federal government to move more quickly to fix flood damage to roads and other access routes to allow firefighters to avoid delays as the state's wildfire season approaches.
Many of the worst hit roads are in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Larimer and Boulder counties, where flooding affected approximately 230,000 acres.
January 29, 2014
WASHINGTON — The House voted Tuesday to bar federal subsidies to Americans signing up for health insurance plans that cover abortion, as Republicans issued a fresh warning about the impact of President Barack Obama's health care law.
Ignoring a White House veto threat and a slim possibility of passing the Senate, majority Republicans voted 227-188 for the measure that they insisted was necessary to permanently bar taxpayer dollars for abortion amid implementation of the 4-year-old Obamacare law.
Rep.
January 29, 2014
The House voted Tuesday to permanently ban federal spending on abortion, and to block the flow of federal subsidies to ObamaCare insurance plans that cover abortion.
Members voted 227-188 to pass the No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act, H.R. 7. The bill is similar to one the House passed in 2011 with the help of 16 Democrats. This time around, only six Democrats voted with the GOP.
One Republican voted no — Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) — and Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) voted "present." Democrats voting with the GOP were Reps.
January 29, 2014
WASHINGTON — Sorry Rep. Cory Gardner, but your wager is the least appetizing out of the whole lot.
In a friendly Super Bowl rivalry between the Colorado and Washington delegations ahead of the big game this weekend, Colorado's seven House members are betting food and booze stuffs from their districts against food and booze stuffs from Washington state.
If Colorado loses, this is what Colorado lawmakers will have to give Washington lawmakers:
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver: Stranahan's Whiskey & Tamales (YUM)
Rep.
January 28, 2014
More than 90 House Democrats are asking the Supreme Court to uphold Obamacare's requirement that nearly all employers provide contraception in their employee health plans, even if the employer has a religious objection.
The justices will hear arguments March 25 in a case brought by two private companies that object to providing birth control in their employee health plans because of the owners' religious beliefs.
January 28, 2014
Scores of House Democrats entered the legal fight over ObamaCare's birth-control mandate Tuesday, filing an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in defense of the contentious coverage requirement.
Behind House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the lawmakers say the provision – which requires most employers to cover birth control for their workers – does not infringe on religious freedoms, as the Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned retail chain, contends in its lawsuit.
"The contraceptive coverage requirement does not substantially burden any